


Just Keep Your Eyes on Me

by ishipallthings



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 3490
Genre: Dancing, Earth-3490, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Getting Together, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Love Confessions, Pining, Secret Identity, Smitten Steve, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 14:02:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19792393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishipallthings/pseuds/ishipallthings
Summary: Three times Steve Rogers meets Natasha Stark, and one time he asks her out on a date.





	Just Keep Your Eyes on Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wikketkrikket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wikketkrikket/gifts).



> This my 3490fest fic for wikketkrikket, I hope you like it! 
> 
> Based on the prompt: Steve and Natasha are undercover investigating a suspicious business and begin to fall in love. Unfortunately, neither of them know the other is undercover. 
> 
> Thank you to Addy and Stefani for the great beta help and to Maya for brainstorming support. Snoozingcat deserves all the kudos for organizing 3490fest :D
> 
> Title from Shut Up and Dance by WALK THE MOON.

* * *

The first time Steve Rogers meets Natasha Stark, she tells him her name is Evelyn. She makes him laugh with a well-timed joke, and when she smiles at him, she shows her right dimple - he falls just a little bit in love then. 

(She’s undercover, but he doesn’t know that yet. But then again, so is he.)

There’s something bright and knowing in her eyes that draws Steve in, and despite knowing he shouldn’t, Steve asks Evelyn to dance. He’s at the gala on SHIELD business, to investigate the intel they received about an exchange going down between The Trojan and an unknown third party. Trojan has been targeting major tech companies for months, most notably Stark Corp, and Steve gets the impression Hill really wants this one done with, fast. Steve suspects it’s an inside job, but as of now, they don’t really have any likely suspects. 

So yeah. SHIELD business. Professionalism. Still, his heart skips a beat when she accepts his offer with a cheeky grin, looking up at him from behind thick-rimmed glasses. A slow song makes its way over the speakers, and Steve holds his breath as they move closer together, his hands on Evelyn’s waist, and start to sway. 

“So, is this a habit of yours then, asking girls to dance?” Evelyn asks. The dim lights of the ballroom frame her face and her long blonde hair as she speaks, and for a moment, Steve looks at her with an artist’s gaze, wishing for pencil and paper. Her voice is teasing, and Steve huffs a quiet laugh before replying. 

“Definitely not a habit. I’m not really much for dancing, actually. Always thought I had two left feet.” he says. 

“And yet you made an exception. You do know how to make a girl feel special, Steve.” His pulse beats just a little faster when she says his name, which is a bad sign. Steve really needs to get a grip right about now. 

They had given him a new name along with his cover, Edward Thompson, but he had told her to call him Steve, because he wants one small part of this to be real, even if the rest of it has to be a lie.

Evelyn leans in closer, and Steve fights a blush as she loops her arms around his neck, the sweet fruity smell of her perfume just a little overwhelming. Oh boy. _At least,_ he thinks somewhat hysterically, _if she’s the one I’m looking for, I can stall her before the exchange happens._

“Well, if dancing’s not really your forte, what is, then?” she continues. 

“Art, I guess - I like to draw, and my day job is graphic design for Stark Corp’s marketing department.” This part is what Steve finds the hardest about being undercover - memorizing details about his cover is easy with his eidetic memory from the serum, but whenever he reveals information about himself undercover, it always feels like he’s not playing the part right, like he’s five seconds from giving himself away. 

This time, it seems like his fear has come true. Steve feels Evelyn stiffen in his arms at his words. She’s still smiling, but there’s a tight, sharp edge to her mouth that had been absent before, and her voice sounds several degrees lower when she replies. 

“Really? Stark Corp, that’s fascinating.” Her gaze is dark as Steve’s eyes meet hers, and his stomach swoops for a long moment. The only reason for her to react like that to learning that he’s involved with Stark Corp - 

A wave of emotion, colored with anger and frustration at himself, and just a little disappointment washes over Steve at his realization. He’s been played. 

Evelyn opens her mouth to speak. Steve focuses on her, cataloging and memorizing every detail he can. He’s not going to let her get away, but if she does, at the very least he’ll have enough for a very detailed portrait, which is more than they have on Trojan at the moment. Steve bites back an inward curse at his own foolishness, remembering how easily Evelyn had charmed him from the beginning - he had very nearly screwed up this mission, too intent on a pair of sparkling eyes and a soft smile, and it was a mistake both he and SHIELD could not afford. 

Suddenly, her words are drowned out in the sound of an explosion near them, and Steve is thrown back on his feet. Screaming and panic fill his ears, and by the time Steve’s upright again, all he can see of Evelyn through the smoke is a pair of black high heels and a hand grasping at the folds of her red dress as she flees the scene. 

Godamnit. Steve is really not looking forward to another staredown with Director Hill.

* * *

The second time Steve Rogers meets Natasha Stark, she's introduced to him as CEO of Stark Corp, while Maria Hill introduces him as one of SHIELD’s best agents. 

It’s a truth, but only a partial one - his identity as Captain America is one of the country’s well-guarded secrets, hidden behind stacks of blacked-out files and miles of red tape. When SHIELD found Steve in the ice and revived him, they had thanked him for his services, told him that the title of Captain America was retired “for the foreseeable future”, and gave him a job. They had thrown him into the deep end without warning, and while Steve thinks he’s beginning to find his footing in this new world one year on, sometimes it still feels like he’s unmoored, looking for a safe place to land.

The CEO of Stark Corp is dressed in an immaculate light grey suit, complete with red tie and a gold tie pin, her brown hair tied back as she stares at Steve from behind dark, tinted shades. She looks different, and maybe if Steve had only paid her a passing glance that night, he would have missed the resemblance, but he recognizes her - her face, her mouth, her voice. 

Natasha sends Maria an unimpressed look at the introduction, arching her eyebrows for a long moment. The director returns her gaze with impassivity, but Steve reads something like amusement in her eyes before Natasha turns in his direction and steals his attention away. 

“SHIELD agent, huh?”

Steve can’t read her expression behind those sunglasses, but the grin that slowly spreads across her face is razor-sharp. It’s nothing like the cheerful smiles he had gotten from Evelyn, but her mouth curves in the same way and Steve tries not to notice her right dimple. Her tone is clipped, almost bland, and Steve wonders if she’s holding anything back, if she felt anything more when she saw him. 

If she even remembers him. 

She’s speaking again before Steve can open his mouth to reply, and her next words make it clear that she has. “Not the first possibility that came to mind, but I should have known. Only SHIELD could come up with such a lazy cover, making Blue Eyes over there one of my own graphic designers.” There’s a note of challenge in Natasha’s voice, and Steve tenses, expecting Hill to retaliate in kind. Instead, he finds himself shocked when Maria only rolls her eyes in Natasha’s direction. 

“No one asked you to go play undercover yourself, Stark.” She shakes her head as Natasha gives a shrug, adjusting her sunglasses with one fingertip. 

“Pepper handled the Tokyo contracts just fine by herself, and you know I like to be hands-on. ” She sighs as her phone lets out a sudden, insistent trill. “Speaking of Pepper, duty calls.” 

Natasha turns to leave the director’s office, waving one hand carelessly behind her. “Till next time then, Hill, glad we got this little misunderstanding cleared up. Tell Sharon thank you for her help with the disguise.” Maria lets out a small noise of surprise at that last tidbit of information, but only nods in response to Natasha’s farewell.

Steve almost thinks she’s going to leave without acknowledging him again when she pauses in the doorway for a moment, glancing at him. “See you around, Rogers.” 

The sound of her high heels hitting the floor echo down the hallway once she’s gone, and Steve gets the distinct impression that Maria is trying very hard not to laugh at him. He appreciates the effort, at least.

* * *

When Maria sends Steve to Natasha Stark’s workshop two weeks later with a pile of documents to sign, he is much less appreciative. He wonders if this is some kind of payback for the gala incident. 

The security guards at Stark Tower let him through once he shows them his SHIELD pass, and he’s told to take the elevator all the way down to the basement, then turn right and make his way down some more stairs. 

Heavy metal music is blasting its way through the loudspeakers once Steve has found his way to the large glass door of what he assumes is Natasha Stark’s workshop. Steve grimaces. The serum has a long laundry list of benefits, but sometimes enhanced hearing can have its downsides. 

He hesitates a moment before tapping his knuckles loudly on the glass surface of the door. Natasha doesn’t look up from where she’s fiddling with a very small screen, seated on a lab bench, and Steve’s about to try again when he is interrupted by a motorized voice speaking in a clear, crisp British accent. 

“Miss, Agent Rogers is currently requesting entry to the workshop.” 

Steve jumps at the sound, and when he looks up, Natasha is smothering a laugh. “Let him in, M.E.R.L.I.N.”

There is a quiet hum as the glass door in front of Steve slides open, and he steps inside. 

“Thank you,” he says, and he must sound more than a little confused because Natasha gives a succinct reply to his unanswered question.

“That’s just M.E.R.L.I.N, my AI. He’s in charge of most things around here, makes sure I don’t blow myself up in the workshop accidentally -”

“One of my more difficult tasks, I must admit, Miss,” the AI interrupts, and Natasha makes a fond, if exasperated noise in response. 

“Oh hush, you, no scaring off the new guy,” she says, before turning to Steve. 

Her hair is noticeably greasy and tied back in a messy bun, and her too-large shirt, which reaches to her thighs and covers almost all of her shorts, has at least four kinds of stains on it - she looks pretty much like the dictionary definition of a mess, but there’s something bright and happy in her face that was missing the last time he saw her, careful and guarded, every inch a CEO, and it’s so much more real than the charm she had wielded on him as Evelyn. It’s breathtaking, and it’s beautiful. 

Steve is so focused on her expressiveness that he almost misses her question. 

“What can I do for you, Blue Eyes?” Steve fights the urge to blush at the nickname, telling himself he’s being absolutely ridiculous. He steps forward with the sheaf of papers in one hand. 

“Director Hill sent me over with some documents for you to sign, Miss Stark.” She moves closer to take them from him, and Steve holds his breath as their fingers brush. 

“Call me Tasha, everybody does. Miss Stark is reserved for pig-headed Board members and reporters who are trying to get a rise out of me,” Natasha tells him. 

She walks over to the nearest lab table, looking for a pen amongst the cluttered mess of screwdrivers and machine parts. Steve moves to help her but stops in his tracks when a small robot with a red ribbon tied to its arm slides across the floor, stopping in front of Natasha with a pen in its right claw. 

“Ah, yes, thank you, Gwen darling.” She picks up the pen and gives the robot an affectionate pat on the head with her other hand, smiling the soft whir in response. Natasha looks up at Steve and gestures at the robot. 

“This is Gwen, one of my two helpers around here, couldn’t do a thing without her.” She laughs as she spins around, motioning to a slightly larger robot at the other end of the workshop. “And that’s Lance, he’s currently in time-out today, so he doesn’t get to make friends.” 

“Did you make them?” Steve asks, a smile in his voice. Gwen looks up at the sound of his voice and slowly makes her way towards him, tilting her head in curiosity. Steve waves at her hesitantly, and Natasha chuckles. 

“Yeah, I designed them both when I was eighteen, they’ve been with me ever since.” Fondness colors her tone as Gwen lets out a happy-sounding beep.“There’s also Gawain, he’s the baby, but I lent him to Jane Foster for an experiment this week,” she adds, finishing the last of the signatures and hands the papers back to Steve.“There you go, Rogers.” 

He takes them back with a nod and is about to thank her and make his exit when she interrupts him with a question.

“So, you gave me your real name, but what about the rest of it - do you really draw, or was that part of the lie too?” Her voice is light, almost careless, but Steve sees something shift in her face at the word lie, and his heart constricts in his chest. Maria gave him SHIELD’s file on Natasha Stark as part of his briefing for the mission, and he knows that she’s had more than her fair share of betrayal from people who should have had her back. Even though it was for a mission, and he was only a stranger, he doesn’t like that he’s now on the list of people who have lied to her.

“No, that part was true, though clearly art is more of a hobby for me than a job. And I mainly do sketches, not much else.” Natasha hums quietly at his response.

“So you’re a SHIELD agent by day and a mysterious, brooding artist by night then?” Steve lets out a surprised laugh, rubbing one hand over the back of his neck. 

“I don’t know about mysterious and brooding. It’s kind of boring, really,” he answers, ducking his head.

Natasha looks up at him from the lab table, where she’s once again fiddling with the small screen she had been working with before Steve came in. Steve suspects she doesn’t really like staying still. “And what about dancing? Are you secretly a ladies man, Blue Eyes, or is the sweet and innocent act for real?”

“It’s not an act -” Steve shoots back, feeling defensive. Natasha looks at him, a teasing glint in her eyes, and he continues, a little quieter this time. “I asked you to dance because I wanted to.” _I wanted to see if I could make you smile again,_ he doesn’t say. 

There’s a long pause, and Steve swallows, feeling his face. He’s probably said too. He’s definitely said too much. 

“Well then maybe next time, I’ll do the asking.” Natasha’s smile is small but real, and the sound of something like a promise in her voice has Steve grinning for the whole day, even once he’s back at SHIELD. Maria’s expression is much too knowing when he makes his report, but Steve doesn’t really mind.

* * *

The third time Steve Rogers meets Natasha Stark, it’s nearly a year later at the tail end of an Avengers mission, and it catches him completely off guard. This fight had involved, of all things, building-sized frogs that secreted large amounts of slime. It had all seemed a bit ridiculous until they had realized that the slime from the giant frogs was toxic, and would cause dangerous burns upon skin contact. 

It had taken them hours, but the threat had mostly been dealt with, and Steve knows Thor and Jan can manage the rest of the clean-up easily. His worry now is reserved entirely for Iron Woman, who is stumbling a little as he helps her to her feet. 

He puts one of the armor’s arms around his shoulders and supports her as they make their way slowly across the concrete. She sinks down into a sitting position when they reach the nearest wall, and her voice is garbled by the suit’s loudspeakers even outside of the comms. 

“Slime... getting to... it’s stuck on...faceplate... Cap...need help...” 

Steve hesitates for a moment, even as he knows he needs to help her get the faceplate off as soon as possible. Iron Woman is one of the Avengers who has chosen to keep her civilian identity a secret, and he hates that this is taking that choice and privacy away from her, even if he has no other choice. Steve himself had kept his identity as Captain America a secret from the team for a while, although the incident in Montreal a few months back had rendered that a moot point. Iron Woman has become one of his closest friends since the formation of the Avengers with Thor’s arrival on Earth, despite a rather rocky start, and he hopes she knows that nothing needs to change on the team once they all know her identity.

Steve grabs hold of the two halves of the faceplate, pressing down at the sides until there is a loud hiss, and he pulls the pieces away hurriedly, discarding them on the ground beside him before turning back to Iron Woman. 

Staring back at him is Natasha Stark, looking equal parts worried and resigned, and Steve feels his world shift a little at the sight, two formerly separate puzzle pieces clicking together neatly. 

Tasha is Iron Woman. Steve’s been in love with Iron Woman this whole time.

* * *

It only takes ten minutes for the doctors to examine Natasha and give her the all clear - an overnight stay in Medical is recommended for observation, even though the medical team is well aware that most of the Avengers would rather go through another fight than stay in Medical for a minute longer than absolutely necessary.

For Steve, it feels like three hours. 

He spends those ten minutes sorting through and recalibrating his interactions with both Tasha and Iron Woman since the team formed. He keeps finding answers to questions he had never really thought to ask before. Now Steve knows why Tasha avoided him for a solid month after the Montreal incident, why Iron Woman is always out of commission and unavailable when Tasha has to make business trips for Stark Corp, and why Iron Woman reacts so strangely whenever he brings Tasha up in conversation. 

He also knows why he feels a similar kind of closeness and warmth with Iron Woman as with Tasha, which has made him almost guilty for a while. He’s never lied to himself about what he feels for Natasha Stark, but Iron Woman had been both an enigma and a comforting familiarity at the same time. Only now apparently Tasha and Iron Woman are the same person.

When Steve is allowed back into Natasha’s room, her eyes are closed and she looks fast asleep, but he isn’t fooled. 

“You can’t avoid this forever, Tasha.” He sits down in the chair next to her bed with a loud sigh, feeling the exhaustion overtake his body as he breathes in deeply. 

There’s a long pause, and when Steve opens his eyes again, Natasha is staring right back at him. She stays silent for a moment, dark brown eyes intent on his before words start spilling out of her mouth, almost faster than he can process them. 

“Look, I know you’re mad Steve, I get it, I lied to you for months, I know, but it’s not like you told me either! I had to find out that you were Captain goddamn America after Doom almost killed you and left you for dead!” Steve opens his mouth to object, but Natasha makes a quick gesture at him, cutting him off before he can begin.

“And yes, I know, me being mad about that makes me kind of a hypocrite, okay, not kind of, definitely makes me a hypocrite because I don’t want you to be mad about this, but I don’t care.” 

Natasha’s eyes narrow as she glares at him defiantly. “I’ve been holding all this back for months because I wasn’t supposed to know, and now I do, so yeah.”

“Tasha,” Steve stops her with a touch to her shoulder, pressing down on the urge to brush a wayward curl back from her forehead. “I’m not mad, Tasha. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, SHIELD wanted to keep it private at first, and well -” 

He pauses for a moment to sort through his thoughts. “I thought you’d be angry at the lie and I didn’t want it to change things between us.” Steve smiles helplessly at Natasha, feeling somewhat abashed. “You liked me as Steve Rogers, and that meant so much to me, I guess I was scared you wouldn’t like me as Captain America.”

Natasha scowls at his words, frustration written clearly on her face. “Well, that was stupid. You’re one of the best people I know, as Steve and Cap.” Her voice grows quiet. “The best person, really.”

Steve’s pretty sure he’s beaming a little. “Yeah?” he asks.

Natasha avoids his gaze, and if Steve didn’t know better he would say she’s blushing. “Don’t look so surprised, Rogers,” she says, coughing loudly.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I got used to it being a secret and it was easier that way - Pepper and Rhodey were the only people who knew. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you, I was just afraid.”

Steve’s heart clenches in his chest as he listens to her. He knows how much it takes for Tasha to be this honest and vulnerable with someone, and he is so grateful that she trusts him with this. 

“I wanted to keep you safe, I didn’t want to put you in danger.” Tasha’s words are soft, almost like a confession, and Steve feels a blooming warmth at the thought that she had worried about him, that he was important to her. It feels like hope.

“You could make it up to me,” he says in a conspiratorial tone, and Tasha looks confused for a moment, before rolling her eyes in exasperation. 

“No, I am not letting you teach Lance any more of your dance moves, he’s already enough a menace.” She grins at him cheekily. “Also, you dance like a dork.”

Steve laughs before shaking his head. “No not that, though I stand by my moves.” He looks down at her, feeling almost shy, before reaching out and cradling her right hand in his palms. 

“I’d like to take you out on a date, if you want.” It’s an admission he’s been wanting to make for ages, an admission many of his colleagues at SHIELD have been betting on for months now, the director included, and he’s never wanted anything more. 

“Is this because -” Natasha’s expression is careful and hesitant, but Steve sees a spark of hope in her eyes that ignites a warm glow of joy within him. He leans forward, still holding her hand in his. His confession tumbles out of him, tangled up in anxiety and excitement. 

“It’s because you’re my best friend, Tasha, and you make me smile all the time, and I could listen to your laugh every day for the rest of my life. It’s because I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first moment I saw you and I have to stop myself from kissing you multiple times a day. It’s becoming a serious problem.” Natasha lets out a watery laugh, one hand fluttering over her mouth, and Steve barrels on, grinning. 

“It’s because you love the bots and M.E.R.L.I.N. so much, and I love them too, and because without you the Avengers wouldn’t be a team, a family, and I wouldn’t have found my home here.” Steve feels Natasha’s grip on his hand tighten at his words, and his pulse thunders loudly in his ears.

“It’s because today I found out that the woman I’m in love with and one of my dearest friends are the same person, and I’d really like to take her out on a date,” he finishes, eyes fixed on Natasha’s. 

She’s smiling as she leans forward, one hand fisted in his shirt collar to pull him down towards her. “Sure, on one condition.”

“And what’s that?” Steve asks, moving even closer. 

“Kiss me, Blue Eyes.” 

“With pleasure, my lady,” Steve says, and Natasha laughs as they share their very first kiss. 

It’s a kiss well worth waiting for.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone who can guess the source of Natasha's undercover name gets a cookie and a hug from me <3
> 
> Comments and kudos are the best gifts! :D
> 
> find me on tumblr and twitter under the same handle, I love screaming about stevetony!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Drawing From Life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22948552) by [kdm103020](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdm103020/pseuds/kdm103020)




End file.
